Randy Moore

Congrats on retirement Bill. Sounds like a great day after a rainy start.

Thanks for the heads up on a place to eat in Cassville. We've been going to Geraldi's (Italian place) on the by pass not far from the Ford Dealership.

nice day on the lake - good report

great fish - thanks for the pics and the info.

My wife caught a 6 lb largemouth bass today late morning near Hideaway Marina (point 11 area) on a blue/green 5" grub in 30 feet of water. The fish nailed the grub and the fight was on. Such a beautiful fish. She measured 21" in length and had a girth of 16". We took pictures and released her. This is the largest bass we have caught while fishing Table Rock Lake.

Guys - my neighbor wants to catch crappie - I know the Spring is a good time for crappie but in many states winter fishing for them can be hot too. I know nothing about catching crappie on Table Rock and would like to hear your thoughts and ideas on how to catch them now - lures, depth, etc. Thanks so much.

The lake was a mess with Johnnie's tournament last week - I did try the drop shot rig using green pumpkin worms - had some hits (mostly tail pulls) but no takers. Eventually tried a crank bait and caught a walleye. It's been hit or miss recently.

thanks - I have fished some bluffs a month ago with fair to good results on swim baits and grubs

Thanks for the info. Very surprised it works with the water this cold. But you never know and it pays to experiment to find out what works. I tried the whopper plopper today as well in and around timber both shallow and deep with no results. Saw no surface activity at all. Thanks again.

great report - thanks. How deep of water are you fishing the jerk bait in? Are points more productive? Appreciate any support you all can provide. Thank you

when you say dragging the drop shot do you mean on the bottom or suspended in deeper water. I've been having a very hard time finding any fish. Boated one smallmouth yesterday on a gray grub in 10 feet of water that was about a pound. Have fished bluffs and points with a variety of baits with little success. It seems I'm fishing too shallow. Thanks for your report. Glad you had a great day.

I have begun fishing the bluffs here in October and I'm having some success but not alot. Most fish are on the small side (less than 12") though do get some nice fish upwards of 1.5 to 2.0 pounds. Have been catching them on grubs and swim baits. Does anyone else have any recommendations or suggestions on how to fish the bluffs. Some bluffs seem to produce more than others which is also perplexing. Thanks. Randy

Thanks for the replies guys. I just wondered whether it was a fluke or not. We have been fishing in Table Rock for 10 years and this was a first for me. And this is the strangest Spring I've ever seen. I find the fish one outing and not a clue the next. We never get skunked but tried and true locations are failing left and right. Hopefully things get better before the lake gets overrun with jet skis and wake boats.

My wife, son and I ventured out on Friday evening in uncertain weather conditions so stayed fairly close to where we keep our boat which is at Hideaway Marina near point 11. In the space of two hours we caught 6 difference species of fish - smallmouth bass, Kentucky Bass, walleye, white bass, crappie and a huge drum. All were caught using either a ned's rig or a swim bait. The crappie and drum both hit a Keitech Swim Bait. The drum hit the bait hard and after hook set I knew I was tied into something big as he stripped a lot of line from my spinning reel loaded with 8" monofilament. It took at least 10 minutes to wear him out so we could get a peak at what was on the end of my line (pics attached). I estimate the fish at somewhere between 30" and 36" long and at least 16" wide. I would have liked to weigh him but had no good way to get him in the boat. He floated on the surface for close to five minutes which allowed us to take a number of pictures and get the hook out of his mouth before he swam off. Has anyone else ever caught one of these giants? The white bass we caught was part of a group that surfaced near us schooling. My wife hooked into one, that soon got off, when another grabbed her ned's rig. It was an interesting evening to say the least.

Yesterday was the first day in several weeks, my wife and I were able to get back on the lake. We had been struggling as of late catching smaller fish on both grubs and swim baits. We started yesterday near point 16 in mid afternoon with the swim bait and caught two bass - one smallmouth and one Kentucky but both less than 12". Then I began throwing a Ned's rig in 12 to 14 foot of water parallel to the bank and began catching quality smallmouth. In the space of a little over 90 minutes I caught 5 smallmouth ranging from 2.2 lbs to 2.6 lbs all on the Ned's rig and all well away from the bank. Any time we cast closer to vegetation near the bank smaller bass hit the rig and more often then not we came back with green snot on our bait. In total we caught 10 bass in the point 16 area. I added a 1.9 lb smallmouth bass at point 10 before we headed in. I'm hoping the next month will continue to yield quality fish. Pics of several of the fish are attached.

Thanks for all the great comments guys. We went back two days later and caught another 5 chunks again in the evening shortly before sunset. It was a full week before we got back on the lake and this time we caught another five but these were all males and much smaller. Again best of luck to everyone this Spring.

My wife and I were out yesterday afternoon for 3 hours. We started fishing around point 9 with several other boats nearby. After an hour moved to the Mill Creek area and fished there an hour with no strikes. We then moved to near point 10 and begin to get a few hits using a grey grub with red flakes in it. Small fish were nipping at the tail but not hanging on. Around 6:00 pm the wind picked up and fish started nailed the grub. We caught 6 nice bass from 1.5 lbs to 2.8 lbs on the grub in 45 min. Boat was positioned in 12 to 14 foot of water and casts were both toward the bank and in parallel to it. Species ranged from largemouth bass (1), to smallmouth bass (2) to Kentucky bass (3). The largest bass was the Kentucky and the smallest was the largemouth. All fish caught were pre-spawn and all were released. Here's hoping we all have a great Spring on the lake.

Thanks for the report. My wife and I were thinking of throwing Ned's but hadn't changed from grubs that were doing well though spotty. Not much success on ploppers in the evening though it has been windy.

Attached are a couple of pics of a 6.0 lb Walleye my wife caught near point 9 on Friday evening about 8:00 pm. It was fairly windy that evening. The walleye nailed a small night crawler with no hesitation and took the bait deep under the boat. My wife was using my Lew's medium light rod with a spinning reel and 8 lb test line. We got the fish into the net on the first attempt, took pics, weighed the fish and returned it to the water. Best guess on length is between 28 and 30 inches. It was the highlight of an interesting week of fishing. Report by Randy Moore

Great report Bill. What a day for the young man. A day he will never forget. Any report on Table Rock? We killed them 3 weeks ago before the water went up again as well as the lake temp and are struggling to find keeper bass. Have tried both shallow and deep on a variety of baits. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Good fishing everyone.

good outing - any one bait that was better over another? My wife and I caught small fish this morning - some on a ned's rig and some on a swim bait - missed one nice fish on a grub. Fished shallow and deep with no clear pattern.

Wife and I caught 5 nice KY bass on either Swim Baits or Ned's Rigs in about 20 feet of water in less than an hour. We headed back in when the rain started and we just entering the Hideaway Marina docks where we keep our boat when we noticed a huge feeding frenzy taking place not 20 feet from our boat slip. I put the trolling motor down and we got within range and threw both the swim bait and the Ned's rig and within seconds both hooked in a nice white bass. I had thought it was either smallmouth or Kentucky Bass feeding on shad but it was White Bass. The first two fish we caught nailed our baits and have swallowed both baits. Both fish were in the 2 lb range. We continued to fish the area for another 30 minutes and caught both KY and SM bass in the same area. So our total for the 90 minutes we were out was 11 bass, most of which came within 20 feet of our boat slip. Same days you just need to be in the right spot at the right moment to experience something magic. We have tried fishing closer to shore in more shallow water but continue to bring back baits with green algae on them. Most of the fish we are catching are still in the 15 to 20 foot range. I'm guessing the fish haven't spawned yet. Does anyone know for sure? What is the ideal surface temp for spawning? I wish you all a good fishing week in and around the rain we'll be getting. At least the last few days the boat traffic hasn't been as insane as it was on Friday May 1st. I'm hoping as MO returns to normal that some of the idiots will stay off the lake at least until June.

What a mess - I so look forward to Spring fishing, but this year will be a joke with all the boats on the water and all the idiots not paying attention to social distancing rules. Thanks for the update and thoughts. Keep safe guys.

Guys I was out about a week ago when my low oil warning went off. I was fairly certain the reservoir on my 2 cycle engine was full but nonetheless stopped to check. The reservoir was indeed full, but after removing the cowling I found the reservoir attached the engine was down by about 30%. I loosed the cover and started the engine expecting the reservoir to fill. It did not. The low oil warning beep will continue to go off if the reservoir isn't full. Any ideas on how to correct this issue? I have a service call into Dyna Prop to look at the problem, but thought one of you might know what my issue is. Thanks and Good Fishing. Randy Moore

First time on Table Rock since the first of the year. Fished for about three hours in various places within a mile of point 9 with no success. Finally caught two keeper bass around 3:30 halfway between point 10 and Hideaway Marina in 20 feet of water using a single tailed grub (watermelon green with red flecks). Pictures of the first fish, a 2.1 pound Largemouth Bass are attached. Shortly after catching the largemouth, caught a 1.8 pound Kentucky Bass also on the same lure. Had a 3rd hit on the very next cast but hook set had me all wrapped up in a underwater stump and had to break off. Water temp hovered in the 45 to 48 degree range.